Page 134 of The Breaking Point

GRACE

“Congrats on moving into your new house!” Kelly said as she raised her glass in a toast. After much finagling, we’d finally found a time to get together at one of our favorite restaurants.

Both Elodie and I raised our glasses. I hadn’t had time to hang out with my girlfriends for the past few weeks after Brady and I had closed on a house. We’d finally moved in, although we barely had any furniture between the two of us. We’d laughed like lunatics when we’d realized we’d have to sleep on a mattress on the floor until we got an actual bed.

“How is everything going?” Elodie asked.

I smiled, feeling my cheeks heat. Sure, buying a house with your boyfriend and then moving in with him was stressful—but mostly it’d been amazing.

“We’re still together,” I joked.

Kelly snorted. “I lasted a week when I moved in with my first boyfriend. He didn’t believe in doing the dishes, so he’d literally throw away ceramic bowls instead of washing them. Oh, and he never did laundry. He just kept buying underwear. He had more underwear than anyone I’ve ever known.”

“Oh my God.” Elodie covered her mouth, stifling a laugh. “I can’t even imagine.”

“When I tried to wash the dishes one night, he got mad at me. Said I was ‘wasting water.’” Kelly rolled her eyes. “Anyway, when he tried to get me to stop flushing the toilet except for once a day, I bailed.”

“Great story, Kels,” I said.

“Please tell me that Brady lets you flush the toilet,” said Kelly.

I assured my friends that Brady did, in fact, let me flush the toilet. He even knew how to put the seat down and wash dishes. His laundry skills were to be determined, though.

“I mean, he doesn’t need to do laundry much,” I admitted, stirring my drink. “He loves to be naked. It’s pretty nice.”

“One of the perks of living together, huh?” said Elodie.

“I mean, we lived together before, as kids. But not like this. Sharing a room, a bed ...” I sighed happily. “It’s better than I could’ve imagined.”

“Aw, you make me want to puke.” Kelly patted my shoulder. “I’m happy for you, kid.”

“You don’t mind living near your parents?” Elodie asked, raising an eyebrow.

When I’d suggested that we buy a house near my parents, I’d expected Brady to protest. But to my surprise, he’d loved the idea. And so had my parents.

I’d loved seeing how my parents had really embraced Brady like a son in the past six months. I had a feeling it was more because Brady was allowing them in. He was also on the path of forgiving himself.

“It’s kinda nice. We’d like to get a puppy, but we’d need help, obviously. So my parents can come over a lot when we’re at work or Brady’s out of town,” I said.

“You know what they say about getting a puppy ...” Kelly gave me an amused look. “It’s just the first step to having a baby.”

I nearly choked on my drink. “Oh God, it’s way too soon for that!”

“If I were you, I’d be poking holes in the condoms ASAP. Lock that man down,” said Kelly.

I snorted. Elodie was just staring down at her drink, a shy smile on her face. I had noticed that Elodie hadn’t ordered alcohol tonight. Now I couldn’t help but wonder ...

“Elodie,” I said, narrowing my eyes at her. “What’s that smile about?”

Elodie’s smile just widened. “Um, what?”

Now Kelly was staring at Elodie. “You’ve been awfully quiet. What’s up?”

“Nothing. I mean, yes, there is something.” Elodie sighed. “I’m botching this terribly. I’m pregnant, you guys.”

Kelly and I both erupted into squeals at the same time. We were so loud that a few nearby restaurant patrons shot us dirty looks.

“Seriously? How far along? When did you find out?” I asked.

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